by Rachel Leigh
Once I’m convinced the hall is clear, I pull the lever on the recliner in the dark room and head for the door. Just when I turn the handle, it swings open with no force on my end. “Lars, what are you still doing here?” Willa asks, as she tugs the straps of her backpack tightly to her chest.
“Leaving.” I slide past her, but she grabs me by the arm. When my eyes skate down to where her graceful fingers are wrapped around me, she pulls away abruptly.
With her eyes held tight to her feet, she uses a hushed tone. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Glancing down at my nonexistent watch, I sigh. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”
When she turns and walks back into the theater room with her head hung low, I feel like the world’s biggest ass, so I go after her. But my phone vibrates in my pocket before I even make it in the door. I pull it out and read the text from Talon, telling me to hurry my ass up or they’re leaving without me.
Glancing from my phone into the darkness of the room, I stuff it back in my pocket and continue down the hall. Probably should have heard what she had to say, but I’m sure she just wanted to ask me to be nice to Trent, so it’s pretty pointless anyway. The guy put his hands on me first. I was defending myself, plain and simple. He knows better. Hell, the entire school knows better.
Picking up my pace, I hurry to my car. We’re tracking down a couple leads today to try and find out where Zed took Josh. It’s a long shot, but we can’t give up until we find him—before someone else does. There is so much incriminating evidence out there that could get us all in a shitload of trouble. We never could have anticipated that Zed would turn on us like he did.
Pulling up to Talon’s house, I only see Tommy’s car. I kill the engine and get out to check the garage, just to humor myself, because I’m pretty damn sure they did, in fact, leave already. When it slides open, That fact is confirmed. “Motherfuckers.” Digging my phone back out, I call Talon, but it goes straight to voicemail.
My attention is jerked away from my phone when I hear the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway. I end the call, and for a moment, I think they’re coming back to pick me up. That is, until I realize it’s not them. Staring back at me behind the windshield of his car is none other than Anderson Thorn, Marni’s dad.
This is just great. Not only did they bail on me because I was ten minutes late, now I have to endure the wrath of this cocky bastard. He doesn’t even hesitate to jump out of his black SUV, leaving his door open. “Where the hell is my daughter?” he barks, as he stalks toward me with a menacing scowl on his face. I watch his feet move quickly as he comes at me.
Sticking my phone back into my front pocket, I shrug my shoulders. “No idea. I just got here.”
As he comes closer, I notice his jaw ticking ferociously. “Don’t fuck with me, boy.” His fingers tangle around the collar of my shirt and he pulls me so close that I can smell the stench of bourbon roll off his tongue. “Tell me where my daughter and that nitwit, Talon, are, right fucking now.”
Attempting to shove his hands off me, I fail. “I told you, I just got here. I have no idea where Marni and Talon are.”
My words only provoke his anger further. He pulls me closer and for a moment it feels like my feet have left the ground. “The cops were snooping around my warehouse this afternoon. I want proof that this is all laid to rest. That this boy's body won’t surface on my front porch.”
“What kind of proof are we supposed to give you?” I ask him. How are we supposed to prove that Josh’s body is laid to rest, someplace it will never be found, when we don't even know where the hell it is?
When he finally releases his grip on me, I brush off my shirt. His demeanor changes. Shifting from erratic to unusually mellow. “I wanna know what the hell you guys did with Josh. This needs to end right fucking now.”
I could tell him that we have no idea, but there’s a good chance he’d kill me right here and now. He’d probably get away with it, too. “He’s buried. No one will find him.”
His chin tips up and his eyes narrow in on me. “Where?”
Fucking A. Where the hell are those guys? I can’t believe I have to deal with this shit right now. Sweat drips down my back as I rack my brain, trying to come up with something that will appease this man. Lake Ruin? With his car? No, that would just make him more anxious. The car has already been found. They’ve had divers searching ever since. “Briarwood,” I spit out, without even giving it a second thought. “He’s buried in the basement of Briarwood.” That’s where he should be, anyway.
Cocking a brow, he questions me further. “Briarwood? As in that old Asylum off Highway 55? Why the hell did you guys bury him there? That’s Talon’s property. Jesus Christ, are you guys trying to get us all locked up for life?”
“No one will find him. He’s underneath a slab of cement. We’re good. It’s over. You’ll never even be considered a suspect.”
“Is it? Because what happens when they find new evidence that I don’t know about? They found his car. Got a tip that he could be at the warehouse, fortunately that was a dead end. But what’s next? Search parties are out day and night.” He shakes his head. “I won’t rest until I see for myself.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Let me talk to the others and I’ll give you a call.”
“If the cops start investigating me and I lose everything….” he pauses, “doesn’t matter. You’ve got forty-eight hours to bring me to him, and once you do, I’m taking control. I’ll get rid of that fucking body for good. I have to leave for a business trip in two days and I’ll be gone for three weeks. I want this shit settled before I go. Rally together, have a little heart-to-heart, I don’t fucking care. But I’m taking matters into my own hands like I should have in the first place.” His hand sweeps through the air as he turns back toward his SUV. “Forty-eight hours, or I’m coming for all four of you. And I’ll be taking my daughter with me.”
I stand frozen until he pulls away. I’m pretty sure I held my breath for those entire sixty seconds. Once his taillights fade into the distance, I throw my face into my hands. “Fuck,” I shout, kicking the toe of my shoe into the cement. This is a damn mess. It’s not enough that Josh’s car is being torn apart for evidence. That the entire fucking town has been searching for him day and night, meaning he could turn up at any moment. But now, we’ve got Anderson fucking Thorn on our asses.
When I pull my phone back out to call Talon, an unknown number flashes on the screen. Hitting ignore, I end the call. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message or text me like a normal person. Then I shoot Talon and Tommy a group text.
Me: Shit just hit the fan. We need to meet up. Where the hell are you guys?
As soon as I hit send, a voicemail comes through. I hit play.
“Lars, it’s Willa. Can we meet up and talk? It’s important. Please call me back.”
4
It looks like Christmas threw up on Redwood as I drive through the small town. The sun is beginning to set and every lead the guys followed turned up a dead end. With no daylight, there is no way we are finding Josh tonight—if we ever find him. We only have one option left, and they aren’t gonna like it one bit, but we have no choice. We have to get on Zed’s good side.
Pulling up to Briarwood, I see Tommy’s car. When I get out, I can immediately smell the burning wood. Of course. I’m hashing it out with Anderson and these guys are back here having a bonfire and partying it up. Rage consumes me as I walk around the dilapidated building. “Are you fucking kidding me? This is what you call being productive?” I stalk toward Talon as all my blood rushes to my face. “Do you have any idea what I just dealt with? Of course you don’t because you assholes left me.” I look around from face to face, and I’m taken aback by a familiar one. “What the hell is she doing here?” I gesture toward Madison with my eyes on Talon.
“Hey, brother. Good to see you, too,” Madison says as she tips back a can of seltzer wine.
Nervousness washes over me and I’m not sure
I can take much more tonight. Part of me wonders if I need to just pack up my shit and run far away. I’ve dug myself so damn deep that I have no idea how I’ll ever make it out of this a free man. “I was just telling your friends that it would be nice if we could all get to know each other better. I’ve been in Redwood for almost a year and I’ve never even hung out with you guys.”
Snatching a can of beer from Tommy, I look over at Madison and grin. “Yeah, that’s because you’re stuck up and we prefer to distance ourselves from fake bitches. Now if you don’t mind, I need to talk to my friends. Go back to the mall, or maybe the plastic surgeon who fucked up your nose.”
Her hand slaps to her chest. “Ouch. That might hurt if I had a heart.” The imposter smile she was wearing quickly diminishes and a snark glare washes over her face. I’ve gotta get her out of here before she says something stupid. I wouldn’t put it past her to tell these guys that she knows the truth. Even if she doesn’t have proof, her statement would point a lot of fingers at us. Slamming the beer in my hand, I toss the can beside the blazing fire and stalk toward Madison.
Grabbing her by arm, I pull her away from everyone. “What the hell are you up to now?” I whisper-yell.
“Nothing. Just wanted to hang out with you all. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“How did you even know they were here?” I ask with my fingers still tangled around her forearm.
Her shoulders waggle. “I followed them from town. Is that a problem?”
My phone sounds in my pocket and Madison’s eyes shoot to it. “Are you gonna get that?”
“Later.”
“Why later? Who is it?” she asks, as she begins trying to stuff her hand in my pocket like she’s a jealous ex-girlfriend.
I shove her hand away. “Get the fuck off of me.” But she doesn’t stop.
“Who the hell is it, Lars?” This is what I deal with on a daily basis. Constant patrolling from my stepsister because she’s an obsessed psycho.
“I don’t know. I said I’d get it later.” I give her another shove and she stumbles back, falling on her ass. Everyone looks in our direction and Marni’s eyes widen in horror.
“Lars! Did you just push her?” She hollers as she hurries to our side. Yes, I just pushed her because she’s not the sweet innocent girl she’s making you all think she is. But, I don’t say it. Instead, I extend a hand to try and help her up.
I’m not surprised that she ignores it and plays the victim. Instead, she lets Marni help her up. Wrapping her arm around Marni’s waist, she’s led back to the fire. Halfway there, she looks over her shoulder and throws me a sadistic smile. She’s playing a game, and every single one of us are her pawns.
“Talon. Tommy,” I yell then signal toward the building with a nod of my head. Talon gives Marni a look before following my lead. I guess that’s what it’s like to be pussy-whipped. Is that what I am? Am I pussy-whipped by my fucking stepsister? A girl I hate. The way she’s glaring at me through the fire with flames in her eyes, I’m certain that I am. My phone sounds in my pocket again and I’m about to lose my shit. I end the call and send Willa a text on a whim.
Me: What the hell do you want, Willa?
This damn girl won’t stop blowing up my phone. Not even five seconds later, she responds.
Willa: Can you meet me at Miner Park, please? It’s important.
I don’t even respond. I don’t have time for this.
I’m a few feet ahead of the guys when I pull open the rusty old screen door. It slams shut behind me as I begin pacing back and forth in the dark entryway. My shadow casts on the floor as a sliver of light from the fire shines through the door. When it rips back open and Tommy and Talon step inside, my feet continue to move as I talk. “You fuckers left me.”
“What’s the big deal? We didn’t find anything, anyways,” Tommy says.
“The big deal is that when I got to your house, we had a little visitor. Yeah, that’s right.” I stop pacing and face the two of them. “Anderson Thorn showed up.”
Talon looks out the door at Marni then back at me. “No?” He questions me like I’d make this shit up.
“Yes. He’s making threats and demanding shit.” I spit it all out in one breath and keep going. “It’s fucking bad, you guys. He’s livid, and in return, he gave us forty-eight hours to show him where Josh is. And the real kicker, he wants to get rid of the body himself. We’re fucking screwed.”
Talon holds his hand up to stop me. “Would you calm your ass down. We’re fine.”
Tommy has taken over my space on the floor and is pacing back and forth shaking his head. “No. Lars is right. We’re screwed. I fucking knew we should have just left Josh in the road when we saw him.” He stops suddenly. Turning to Talon, anger takes ahold of him. “This is all your fault. You had this grand idea to take his daughter and now look where the hell we are.”
“We need to get Zed back,” I tell them. “We need to earn his trust and make things right with him.” As much as I don’t like it, because I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to trust him again, it has to be done.
Tommy nods his head then snaps his fingers. “Yes. We have to. It’s the only way.”
Talon bites back, “Have you all forgotten that Zed fucking hates me. All this time that I thought he was my friend, he just wanted to get me back for giving his mom those pills.”
He has a point. Sophomore year, Talon developed an unhealthy addiction to pills and started working for a dealer to make ends meet when his parents cut him off. This was all before he was given a hefty trust fund that set him up for the rest of his life. He sold some pills to Zed’s mom and she intentionally overdosed on them and died shortly after. We all thought that Zed forgave Talon when he got clean and made his amends. It seems that Zed didn’t forget, or forgive.
“You need to make this right, Talon. You started this war and you need to fix it.”
“What could Zed possibly want from us?” Tommy asks the question we’re all wondering.
“Who the fuck knows. The point is, we have to either get Zed on our side and tell us where Josh is, or we have to eliminate Anderson before he gets to us.”
Talon scratches at the back of his neck and levels his eyes to mine. “You mean kill him?”
“We do whatever we have to do.”
Turning his head over his shoulder, he looks out at Marni. “No. Not a chance. We’ll find a way to get in Anderson’s good graces and we’ll tame Zed at the same time. This isn’t over; therefore, we still have a chance.”
“Alright. Guess it doesn’t hurt to try. Give Zed a call.” I push past him and walk back out the door to get my delightful stepsister. “I’ve got other shit to deal with right now.” She’s another fucking problem. If she thinks she’s going to play a larger role in my life, she has another thing coming.
With my eyes laser-focused on hers, I strut toward her and grab her by the arm. “We’re leaving.”
“I just got here.” She jerks away. “Marni and I were just talking about throwing a party this weekend. What do you think?”
“What do I think?” I laugh. “I think you're delusional. Now let’s go.”
“What’s your problem, Lars? She just wants to hang out with us. She’s new here and doesn’t have many friends.”
Yeah, for good reason. She doesn’t know how to be a friend. She’s a manipulative little snake. But, I don’t say it. Instead, I play nice. “Fine. You all hang out here. I have someone to go meet.” That snaps Madison’s attention away from Marni really quick. Madison is all up in my business, and if she thinks for a minute that I could be meeting up with a girl, she would lose her damn mind. In her head, I belong to her.
“Where are you going?” Her eyes sadden and I can see her heart rate accelerate through the thin fabric of her baby pink T-shirt.
“Oh, just meeting up with an old friend. You stay here. Enjoy yourself and I’ll see you tomorrow.” It’s a semi-lie. Willa has been blowing up my phone because, apparently, there is some
thing she needs to talk about. Not that I have any idea why Willa would need or want anything from me. We’re not even friends. Hell, we’re not even enemies. She just sort of exists in this world. I turn around to walk away. “Later, Marni.” Tommy and Talon are still inside. Hopefully hashing out a plan. And of course, the smacking of flip flops comes trudging up behind me.
“Wait. I’ll come with you,” Madison says as she hurries to my side.
“I thought you might.” I glare at her and I hope she knows that she’s not going anywhere with me. No. I’m putting this bitch in her place right fucking now.
Sticking close to my side, she attempts to grab my hand when we are out of sight of the others. I spit, “What are you doing?” Then jerk my hand away. When she chuckles, I stop walking. “Madison, this isn’t funny. You can’t just show up places like this. It’s suspicious.”
Her fingers slither around my neck and she pouts. “How is it suspicious? I’m the new girl who needs to make some friends. No one has a clue that you’ve been fucking your sister behind closed doors.”
When she tries to kiss me, I tilt my head to the side then unlock her fingers behind my neck, one by one, dropping her hands to her side. “About that. It needs to stop.”
“Come on. You know you like it just as much as I do?”
I begin walking to my car again, and she’s right back at my side. “I have to go. Take your car and go home. I’ll be there in an hour. We need to have a serious talk.”
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her as I pull my phone out of my pocket and get ready to text Willa back. I wasn’t planning on meeting up with her, but I needed an out. I can’t let Madison hang out here. If she tells everyone that she watched us stuff Josh’s body into the trunk of a car, she’ll use it against them, too. She’s like the female version of Zed. Possibly worse.
Before I can even get in the car, Madison snatches my phone from my hand and begins thumbing through it. It was opened to my conversation with Willa and panic ensues. Just as I go to grab it from her, she takes off running like a fucking child with a cookie. “Madison!” I shout, “Give me back my damn phone.”
